When Sharon Osbourne recently celebrated her 60th birthday, she also celebrated a major weight loss of six dress sizes! What helped this superstar shed the pounds? The low-carb Atkins diet. In fact, Sharon is so enthusiastic about Atkins that she’s become the program’s celebrity ambassador and is blogging regularly for them.
So what’s the Atkins diet like?
It’s divided into four phases. Depending on your goal (lose weight or maintain), you’ll start with Phase 1, 2 or 3:
- Phase 1 (induction) takes place for two weeks. You’ll cut carbs to 20 net grams daily and enjoy lots of protein (chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs); olive oil, leafy greens, other veggies and even Atkins snacks. Some people lose as much as 15 pounds in two weeks!
- Phase 2 is ideal if you have 11 to 30 pounds to lose and don’t need the jumpstart in the restrictive diet of Phase 1. You’ll eat the foods in Phase 1 as well as cheese, fruit, nuts and seeds.
- Phase 3 is for you if you have 10 pounds or less to lose. Or, if you already have achieved your goal weight but want to learn how to follow the Atkins plan. You’ll discover how to add carbs to your diet until you achieve your ideal weight.
- Phase 4 is for Lifetime Maintenance, where you’ll continue following the guidelines of the Atkins low-carb diet and maintain your weight loss.
Get started by stocking up on the low-carb diet foods that can make it easy and tasty to become an Atkins aficionado! At Vitacost, we put the “I love it” in Atkins by offering these low-carb favorites:
- With 0 grams of carbs per serving, Crown Prince Skinless and Boneless Pacific Pink Salmon will make you feel as if you’re dining like royalty. Serve it on a bed of Romaine lettuce, with sliced tomatoes and a dash of herbs.
- Think that you can’t enjoy salads without a rich salad dressing? Then get ready to smile when you taste that salad covered with Annie’s Naturals Organic Dressing in flavors like Cowgirl Ranch, with just 3 grams of carbs per serving.
- Whether you’re sautéing chicken or whipping up scrambled eggs, Newman’s Own Extra-Virgin Olive Oil offers a flavorful, 0 carb solution.
- What can you do when you want a sweet treat? Bite into a blissful Atkins snack bar! Vitacost is delighted to offer a full range, such as the Atkins Advantage Bar in flavors like chocolate caramel nut with just 3 grams of net carbs, as well as the Atkins Endulge Bar Peanut Caramel Cluster with just 2 grams of net carbs.
Joanne Eglash, Vitacost.com’s Diet Diva, has a master of science in holistic nutrition and more than 15 years experience as a nutrition consultant, blogger, author and journalist. She has written for a wide range of publications and websites, including ediets.com, Natural Health magazine, Shape magazine, Success magazine, Energy for Women and Chefs. Joanne is currently the national Diets columnist for the online news and entertainment site, Examiner.com, and a features food columnist for Yahoo.